BOX SCORE (Game #1)
BOX SCORE (Game #2)

CLERMONT, FLA. – The William Paterson softball team (5-3) played a pair of games March 21 at the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla., falling to No. 5 Eastern Connecticut State (4-1), 6-0, before defeating Kalamazoo (1-7), 11-1 in five innings.  

GAME ONE
Eastern Connecticut State scored two runs apiece in the first, second and sixth innings for a 6-0 victory. 

Freshman first baseman Jessica Phillips (Woolwich, N.J./Kingsway Regional) went 2-for-2 to lead the Pioneers at the plate.  Sophomore Rachel Cannata (Waldwick, N.J./Paramus Catholic) took the loss (1-1), surrendering four runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings.  Junior Kelsey Hand (Mountainville, N.Y./Cornwall Central) gave up five hits and two runs in 4.2 innings of work.

GAME TWO
Four Pioneers had multi-hit efforts in WP's 11-1 five-inning victory against Kalamazoo.

Sophomore shortstop Katelyn Miele (Flanders, N.J./Pope John XXIII) led off the game with a single and advanced to third on an outfield error, then scampered home thanks to sophomore Laura Henriquez's (Westampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) groundout.

Miele's grand slam, the first home run of her career, made it a 5-0 score in the middle of the second.  William Paterson tacked on two runs in the third with RBI-singles from junior designated player Nicole Walls (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown Regional) and junior second baseman Mandy Muraca (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place).

Kalamazoo got on the scoreboard with a single run during the bottom of the third inning, but WP crossed the plate twice in the third thanks to a Keanna Ross (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook Senior) base hit and a Melissa Swain (West Berlin, N.J./Paul VI) homer.

Miele singled in Muraca and freshman outfielder Kelsey Principe (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany) for the final two runs of the game during the top half of the fifth.

Miele was 3-for-4 with a grand slam, six RBI and two runs scored.  Walls finished 2-for-2 with a double, RBI and two runs scored, and Swain and Muraca were both 2-for-3.

Senior Michele Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) improved to 2-1, striking out three and walking one in 3.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits.  Freshman Kerrin Dys (North Arlington, N.J./North Arlington) tossed the final 2.0 innings of hitless ball, issuing one walk while registering three strikeouts.

The Pioneers will finish play at the NTC Spring Games on Thursday, March 22, taking on Oneonta State at 9:00 a.m. and Thomas College at 11:00 a.m.